Construction is underway at River Road and Cedar Avenue, on a property that last sold gasoline in 2011. A few blocks away, a pool company's storefront now has a seafood counter. The library has been closed since early October, and part of McCarter Park is fenced off for construction. Down by the Municipal Dock, the building at 21 Fair Haven Road has been torn down.
In each case Fair Haven is taking a site it already had and putting it back into daily use. That pattern explains the timelines, the scale of each project and why so much of it sits on River Road or near the water.
The long-vacant Sunoco corner
The Two River Times reported in September that construction has started at the former Sunoco station, 626 River Road. The station ran there for two decades before closing in 2011. Property owner Jake Lebowitz, who took on the project in late 2025 or early 2026, named it Riverline Fair Haven. It will be one mixed-use building with 4,200 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and two floors of apartments above.
For most people in town, the ground floor is the part to watch. According to the same report, Offshore Coffee Co., a local roaster, has signed a lease and will take most of the commercial space. Eat Clean Bro, a meal-prep service built around fitness and natural meals, plans a small grab-and-go counter there as well.
The coffee lease matters because the town has so few places to get coffee. In the Two River Times article, Lebowitz said Fair Haven currently has only Booskerdoo Coffee & Baking Co. and a Dunkin', and both are on River Road. "I like to sort of curate what goes in a place like this," he told the paper. The upper floors will hold 14 apartments, mostly two-bedroom. Twelve will be market-rate and two will be set aside as affordable housing.
Lebowitz expects the whole project to be finished in spring 2027, probably March or April. That means Offshore Coffee is a spring plan, not a winter one. Through the holidays, the corner will be a construction site that is slowly turning into a building.
A seafood counter inside an existing storefront
Further along River Road, Sandy Hook Seafood shows the same reuse at a smaller scale. When the planning board unanimously approved the site plan in March 2025, the application moved Two River Pool Co. to the back of 615 River Road and gave the front 2,300 square feet to the market. The Two River Times covered the approval. The parking lot was reconfigured to serve every business on the property, which also includes Krauszer's and storage space for Fair Haven Hardware.
The owners have deep roots in the local seafood business. Owner Luke Bollerman runs Sandy Hook Bay Marina and the restaurant One Willow in Highlands. His partner, Kyle Hopfensperger, founded 2nd Jetty Seafood in Sea Bright. Bollerman told the Two River Times the market would be "chef-inspired," with chefs in the store to help customers plan meals around the local catch. It has a small seating area for grab-and-go meals but no full-service dining.
The Sandy Hook Seafood website gives the address as 615 River Road, Unit 1, and lists these hours:
- Tuesday to Friday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday and Monday: closed
The shop's About page mentions fresh seafood, sushi and chef-prepared dishes, including locally caught bluefin tuna and New Jersey scallops. The hours shown on its online ordering page have not always matched the website. If you're planning a holiday seafood dinner around a pickup, call ahead.
Two public spaces rebuilt where they stand
The borough's own projects follow the same approach: rebuild what's already there, on the same footprint.
Fair Haven Public Library. The library closed October 5, 2026 for what the Borough calls a "long-awaited and community-driven renovation." Contractors are putting in new flooring, ceiling tiles, lighting, electrical, HVAC and IT systems, followed by fresh paint. After that, new shelving, tables and seating will be installed. The Borough's renovation FAQ estimated four to six weeks and aimed to reopen by mid-November. Patch reported the same target. Until the doors open, you can return books in the orange Book Return bin in the Borough Hall vestibule. Due dates have been extended and late fees forgiven.
McCarter Park. Construction on the Jake's Law inclusive playground started October 7, 2026. The Borough expects it to be substantially complete in about four months, weather permitting, which points to around February. Most of the money comes from an NJDEP Jake's Law Playground Grant, with Borough funding and PTA fundraising covering the rest. The design drew on surveys, Recreation Committee and Council discussions, and open houses held over several years. The Borough's announcement says the work is being coordinated with the Board of Education to keep disruption to recess low.
Here is where each project stood in early November:
| Place | Location | Where it stands | Next milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverline Fair Haven | 626 River Road at Cedar Avenue | Under construction | Completion targeted for spring 2027 |
| Sandy Hook Seafood | 615 River Road, Unit 1 | Hours posted Tuesday to Saturday | Call ahead for holiday pickups |
| Fair Haven Public Library | Borough library | Closed for renovation since October 5 | Reopening targeted for mid-November |
| McCarter Park playground | McCarter Park | Construction began October 7 | Substantial completion in about four months |
| Waterfront parcel | 21 Fair Haven Road | Demolition complete | Open space plans in the grant stage |
Toward the water
The project that changes the town's relationship to the river the most is also the slowest. The Borough's January/February 2026 newsletter reported that demolition was finished at 21 Fair Haven Road, next to the Municipal Dock. It also noted an additional $361,000 County grant the Borough was looking to put to use. In January, the Borough held a public open house to collect feedback for a Green Acres grant application. The application would fund waterfront improvements on the parcel as public open space and recreation. That process is still in the planning and application stage.
The parcel adds to recent waterfront work the same newsletter lists as finished: the small-watercraft municipal ramp at Battin Road, the Grange pocket park, and ADA upgrades at Bicentennial Hall. The newsletter also covered Phases 1 and 2 of the Fair Haven Road project, funded by a $926,900 NJDOT grant. At that point, Phase 1 was nearly finished. Taken together, these projects show the Borough slowly putting its own riverfront back into public use, one parcel and one grant at a time.
On the calendar
Two dates are on the schedule before the year ends:
- Fair Haven Farmers Market. The market started in 2024 and meets on the second Saturday of each month from May through November. On that schedule, Saturday, November 14 is the last market of the season. The Two River Times profiled how it started.
- Christmas Tree Lighting, Holiday Stroll and Santa in the Park. The Borough calendar lists it for Friday, December 4, 2026, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. The Fair Haven Business Association describes the annual Holiday Stroll and Santa's arrival by firetruck.
When the tree is lit on December 4, the playground will still be about two months from its projected substantial completion. The old Sunoco corner will still be under construction, with a spring 2027 completion date and a coffee roaster signed for the ground floor.
I keep track of these projects because the timelines affect when to list a home, which blocks will be quiet in which season, and what a family arriving in spring will find when they get here. If you'd like to talk about how these changes affect your plans, Katie Gay NJ is here to help. Let's Connect.
